New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-04-05
THE GREAT EVIL IN CITY LEGISLATION.

TIE GREAT EVIL IN CITY LEGISLATION.
No practicable method Of governing this
citv without more or less special Legislation
at Albany has yet been devised. Even Gov
cnor Hill in his late Message, admits this
when he says that uniform city charters may
not be feasible" What is practicable Tor a
small city is not always good for large one
Tho Governor advocated and signed bill 10
amend the State Excise law so as TO aoolsh
the three bed clause in the cities OF New
Yor, BROOKLYN and Buffalo but not elsewhere
lie acted on the same alleged principle in sign
inc the Mandamus act applying to New-1 DIX
and BROOKLYN only. and numerous other such
bills. 1t will he found impossible to get Iid VI
all spccial legislation, but there Is no doupO
that large majority of the special acts when
the Governor has signed ought never TO nave
become laws. In his Message he confessed
tb;s Nv declaring that &c the Executive too easily
Yields his convictions of duty and propricty."
The trouble is not that special acts are passed.
but that bad ones become laws.
No act making mandatory any expenditure
Of CITY money without the approval OF the
Board of Estimate should become law. ms
mandatory clause is the root of the evil. Gov
crnor Hill has approved many such acts, against
the protest of the city authorities. die signed
hills lcgalzing two old Tweed advertising
claims which had been rejected by the City
authorities and defeated in the courts. AT the
solicitation of "Tim" Campbell he signed
bill lcgalilng a fifteen -year-od claim oi
.Joseph Steinart. for services never rendered az
District Court clerk. Another such claim Oh
Lawrence Collins, under Tweed appontmen.
made in 1870 was lcgalizcd by bill signed
Inv Governor Hill. Other bills lcgalizing claims
defeated in the courts, and irrespective OF
any statute Of limitations" have been sighcu'
The paw of fire and police department employees
has been increased, aud over 100000 year
taken from the charitable fund and turned
into the police pension fund. In legislation vi
this kind. concerning which the city author
tiles have been allowed no discretion, Governor
Hill has made fixed addition Of over $6OO,ooo
n wear to the city's taxes. This is exclusive oil
the Harlem River Bridge and numerous other
local improvements which the city has been
compellcd to make by mandatory Legislation
Governor Hill has not only approved those DinS
in defiance of the requests of the local author-
ities. but he has permitted good bills to fail
for lack of his signature, though requested by
the local authorities to sign them. A bill 10
mt money in the city treasury, such as the
JToh License bill is regarded as sure OF en-
countering his veto.
The number of ill-timed and pcrnicous
local measures which have been introduced
this year is unusually large. Unfortunately
for the city, its own representatives are inc
ones responsible for this kind of lcgisla-
ton. The bills so lar considered ana as
approved by Mayor Hewitt and the de-
partmcnt heads, with two exceptions
were introduced by city members. IT Is run,
kit, Murphy, Shea, Cullen, IraphaScn ana
other such members who make taxation SO
excessive in New-Yori that workingmcn nave
to live in tcnements because of high rents. And
vet it is TO workngmen such members appear
for re election. The Mayor and his councillors
ought to draw up general indictment OF all
bills which compel the Appropriation OF money
from the city treasury without any discretloh
on the part of the Board of Estimate. This
is the worst evil of the special legislation al
Albany.
OF the tax budget last year $50, 141 ,597
was inserted under mandatory acts OF the Leg
islature. In other words, the Board OF Est
mate had control over less than twohfths oil
the tax levy. In order not to increase too
:auch the already onerous burdens Of taxation
the Board had to cut down where it could.
It's discretion was so limited that injustice
naturally followed.
If the local bills relating to city expenditures
did not have mandatory clauses in them, they
would be robbed of their sting and the induce
mcnt to get them passed would be gone. No
person responsible to the whole people. as the
Mayor and Controller, for instance, would dare
approve one out of ten of these bills. Governor
Hill occasionally vetoes a bill because OF the
mandatory clause. but his action, as he has
confessed depends on the influence brought
to bear on him. The only safety is to kill
such bills in the Legislature, or strike out the
mandatory clause.